Thursday 1 November 2018

"Keep Your Hammer Face Polished"




My Uncle Piers was a gentle man
Though he fought in World War One
He never breathed a word about it
After he and the War were done!

He should have been  a carpenter
And his water colours give me a thrill
And his words were full of wisdom
And I remember them so well still.

My Uncle always told me
When I was nothing but a kid,
“Keep your hammer face polished
It’ll save you many a quid!”

“A clean hammer face will always strike true
Never glance off the nail,
It’ll save you many handles
And many blackened fingernails!”

“Keep your chisels fiercely sharp
And all your knife blades too
A blunt blade is the dangerous one
A sharp blade will serve you true!”

“And always set your saw teeth
So carefully to left and to right
You’ll find you need to sharpen less
And the cut won’t pinch you tight!”

“And always have a pot of grease
To dip your screws, to hand
Think of the man who unscrews them
In another age or other land!”

I still have his pre-war Chisels
His planes and his saw setting tools
They are as precious to me as when I was three
When he taught me his golden rules.


My Uncle Piers was a gentle man
And my Aunty Ivy was pretty and sweet
She made the best custard I ever did taste
And was the nicest person you ever could meet!

Copyright © Res Burman 1st November 2018




Ivy May and Piers Escritt

"November Mornings" haiga


Wednesday 31 October 2018

"The Great West Road"



I’ve travelled this old road
For oh so many years
Travelled in both directions
Through laughter and through tears

I remember when it was
Almost a country road
When lorries hit the houses
Or scraped them with their loads

I’ve travelled it by lorry
I’ve travelled it by car
I’ve walked it in the summer heat
When my feet stuck to the tar.

I’ve walked the moors in icy cold
The snow blowing in my eyes
I’ve carried my too heavy pack
Beneath the buzzard’s cries

I’ve known this road from London
And every step to Land’s End
I’ve known her like an enemy
I’ve known her as my friend

I’ve travelled it in the old way
With a Donkey and a cart
I’ve travelled it with laughter
And gone back with a broken heart

It’s wended it’s winding way
From London to the West
Since well before Roman times
And it’s a road we love the best

For though we wander here and there
Across land and sea and foam
The Great West Road is the one we trust
To bring us all safe home.

Copyright © Res Burman 31st October 2018



Friday 26 October 2018

"Haiku Road"



I’d love to live on Haiku Road
Down the end of Basho Street
Where all the poets gather
And bow to all they meet!

There’d have to be a Temple
For the quiet of one’s mind
And a cosy little tea house
With the best foods they could find.

And then we’d need some mountains
And some forests and bamboo
And quiet shady places
Where the spirit could renew.

Yes I want to live on Haiku Road
I think I’d love it there
And if not I’d move round the corner
And live in Tanka Square!

Copyright © Res Burman 26th October 2018
With thanks to Tom Watts of Troutman
North Carolina for the inspiration!



"Green for Gold" haiku




Cold bites at the trees
As they consume their sugars
And swap green for gold

Copyright © Res Burman 26th October 2018

Monday 22 October 2018

"Morning Sun" haiku





Autumn morning sun
So low on the horizon
Dazzling my eyes

Copyright  © Res Burman 22nd October 2018

Wednesday 17 October 2018

"A Divine Hand" haiku



Light on a tree trunk
Confirming the existence
Of a divine hand


Copyright © Res Burman 17th October 2018

"Waning Days" haiku



Every falling leaf
Still echoes summer's beauty
Autumn's waning days

Copyright © 17th October 2018






Tuesday 9 October 2018

"Michelle"



Look at this young maid. 
She looks perfect, doesn't she?
I thought she was perfect!
But alas, No!
Life is like that, isn't it!
Full of disappointments!
I went out to celebrate
Losing 18 kilos!
And what did pretty Michelle do?
She started to make me
A SMALL cappuccino!
A SMALL cappuccino?
For crissakes,
I'm a man of appetites!
Can't she see that?
So, as I said,
Life is full of small disappointments!
But she is still
A Sweetheart,
Don't you think?

Copyright © Res JFB 9th October 2014

Thursday 4 October 2018

"The Conservative Party Conference" haiku




Theresa May danced
On the graves of Dead Britons
Austerity kills

Copyright  © Res Burman 4th October 2018

Monday 24 September 2018

"Sparkling Waters" haiku




Under the dark clouds
Autumn sunshine still appears
On sparkling waters

Copyright © Res Burman 24th September 2018

Saturday 22 September 2018

"Fools Knocking" haiku




It's that sort of day
Autumn chill bites my old bones
Fools knock on my door

Copyright © Res Burman 22nd September 2018




I abhor cold callers whether it is on the telephone or
at my front door. Why do they think I would buy something
or take part in some survey when they won't read the damn notice
on my front door?

Wednesday 19 September 2018

"Away with the Birds" haiku




There are some that say
I am away with the birds
A divine madness

Copyright © Res Burman 19th September 2018



Saturday 15 September 2018

"Bowing" haiku






Autumn wind and rain
Attack the bowing bamboo
Never losing grace

Copyright  © Res Burman 15th September 2015




Thursday 13 September 2018

"Trishaw Man" haiku



Prince or trishaw man
To every worthy child
Their father is king

Copyright © Res Burman 13th September 2018




Thursday 6 September 2018

"The Garlic Revolution" Gogyoshi



The recipe demanded
That the garlic be crushed!
I am pleased to report 
The garlic has been smashed!
Resistance was futile!

Copyright © Res Burman 6th September 2018

Thursday 30 August 2018

"Autumn Airs" Gogyoshi



Autumn airs bring a chill To my old bones And my left foot Which has no feeling Or big toe nail.... aches! Copyright © Res Burman 30th August 2018

Friday 24 August 2018

"Come Away!"




There’s a ship the bay
And she’s calling my name
Come sail on the Ocean
Across the broad main.

Come pack up your gear
And bid loved ones to bide
For the wind it is freshening
And we sail on the tide.

Let’s seek out adventure
Some new tales to tell
New places to trade
Strange new things to sell.

Let’s sail round the islands
Before we’re too old
Perhaps we’ll come back
With treasure and gold!

They say we’re sea farers
Since the dawn of time
Be it small local lugger
Or a ship of the line.

We’ve salt in our veins
And there’s tar on our hands
Let’s once more away
And seek foreign lands.

And if I find I’m too old
Or I do not have the means
 I will still sail the oceans
On a ship of my dreams! 
Copyright © Res Burman 24th August 2018


Pirate photo courtesy of
The Smugglers Den
Causewayhead
Penzance
Cornwall

Tuesday 21 August 2018

"Denver Scanes" Gogyoshi



My old friend Denver Scanes
His cheery greetings
Still ring in my ears
"Hello Sailor" and "Love Ya Man"
Still whisper from my telephone!

Rest in Peace Denver "The Dude" Scanes
1949 ~ 2016

Copyright © Res Burman 21st August 2018



Tuesday 14 August 2018

"Skirmishing with The Little 'C'"



I’ve danced with Death a time or two
And so far come off best
But there’s no kind of certainty
That I’ll always pass the test.

I’ve skirmished with the best of ‘em
Picked up a scar or two
Had a close encounter with a bayonet
But it didn’t run me through.

I’ve been peppered by mortar shells
But it just was not my time
And picked up the odd ball bearing
From my own side’s Claymore mine.

I’ve heard Death’s deadly whisper
In the bullet’s whiplash crack
And as I ducked away from it
Felt his fingers on my back!

I nearly drowned in the River Camel
In Doom Bar’s spiteful rip
And in a flat bottomed Landing Craft
In a Cyclone’s fearful grip!

But these are only little scratches
Beside two lovers who must part
For there are few wounds deeper
Than those of a broken heart!

But now I face the Surgeon’s knife
And if it’s so…  I must
It’s a little like surrender
When you take so much on trust.

But trust’s a thing that will carry you
Through many a scrape or fight
When you rely on the man beside you,
At your six and left and right.

So trust I shall, the Surgeons hand
It’s cunning and it’s skill
The Nurses tender care will pull
Me through… I trust it will.

But if, perchance, my time is up
And Death is hovering near,
Well Death is just an old old friend
And one I do not fear!

I would not rage against the night
As many think we should
I’ve had a long and loving life
And trust my death’ll be as good!

Copyright © Res Burman 12th August 2018



Saturday 11 August 2018

"Rain" tanka




I see the heatwave
Has broken... rain cools hot earth
Huddled figures rush

My view is hidden by rain
But still my Post Lady smiles

Dedicated to Sarah, my Post Lady
whose smile lights up the day.

Copyright © Res Burman 11th August 2018

Thursday 9 August 2018

"Politics" two haiku



Trump and Kim Jong Un
Children in small men's bodies
Take away their toys


Kim Jong Un and Trump
Spoiled children badly in need
Of a good spanking

Copyright © Res Burman 9th August 2017






"Collared Doves" haiku





Doves in these town streets
Still coo like the wood pigeons
Of my woodland home


Copyright © Res Burman 9th August 2015

Sunday 5 August 2018

"Seeking the Shadows" haiku




Seeking the shadows
Father protects his young son
From summer's fierce heat


Copyright © Res Burman 5th August 2018

My thanks to Steve for his permission to photograph
him and his son.

Sunday 22 July 2018

"Precious Moment" haiga




Copyright © Res Burman 23rd May 2018

With thanks to Kah Yiin and Siew Chin for a lovely visit.

Saturday 21 July 2018

"Gentle Rain" haiku




A gentle rain falls
On the great and small alike
The smell of summer

Words Copyright © Res Burman 21st July 2018

Picture by kind permission of my dear friend
Gerti Steinwender
but if it offends any copyright please
contact me and I shall take it down.

"Saint Crispin's Day"




Be gentle with me
I whispered too quietly
It fell on deaf ears

Copyright © Res Burman 21st July 2018


"He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say "To-morrow is Saint Crispian."
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say "These wounds I had on Crispin's day."

Shakespear's Henry V

Thursday 19 July 2018

"John Steinbeck's Pencil" haiku




Blackwing 602
Half the pressure, twice the speed
John Steinbeck's pencil

Copyright © Res Burman 19th July 2018




"Scribbler's Delight" haiku




John Steinbeck's fav'rite
A Palomino Blackwing
A scribbler's delight

Copyright  © Res Burman 19th July 2018





Tuesday 17 July 2018

"Bad Planning"


It's all down to Bad Planning!
I thought that I'd live fast,
Die young
And leave a beautiful memory!

But plans went awry.
I'm now too old to die young!
And even my memory
Is already fading!

They say that old age
Never arrives unaccompanied!
It brings all this other crap
Along with it!

So the aches and pains,
These tumours and diabetes,
These difficulties breathing
And peeing.

Are all down to Bad Planning
Not Old Age at all
Because... believe it or not,
I'm getting younger every day!

Copyright © Res Burman 17th July 2018


Monday 11 June 2018

"Evening Musings" (haiku and tanka)






Evening sun warm
Upon my old aching bones
Green tea from the East


Pilgrim soul at rest
Summer sun shines on my step
Now seems far enough


Too old to wander
Yet this summer breeze stirs me
Gypsy in my soul

I have seen such scenes
As sun rises on jungles
Seen the Hornbill fly

Listened to the Gibbon’s calls
Like birdsong among the trees


Copyright © Res Burman 11th June 2018


Wednesday 6 June 2018

"Foxgloves Await" (haiku)




After the night's rain
Foxgloves await the sunshine
So that bees may feed


Copyright © Res Burman 6th June 2018


"Buddha's Care (haiku or haiga)





Young bamboo reaches
Up towards the summer sky
Under Buddha's care

Copyright © Res Burman 6th June 2018

Tuesday 5 June 2018

"Ticka Tacka" (haiku)




Even at my age
We old Hippies still love some
Ol' Flower Power

Copyright © Res Burman 5th June 2018

(My new mechanical keyboard)
(I hadn't expected the light show too)

Monday 4 June 2018

"Headache" (haiku)




            

Thunderstorm Warning
Headache racks it up a notch
Paracetamol

Copyright © Res Burman 4th June 2018
             

"Foxgloves" (haiku)






Foxgloves wait in vain
No fox will come to wear these
My small back-street yard

Copyright © Res Burman 4th June 2018

"Bamboo" (haiku)




Early morning sun
Watching my bamboo growing
Summer's here at last


Copyright © Res Burman 4th June 2018










Thursday 31 May 2018

"True Friendship"




Even as petals start to fall
The fragrance of true friendship
Lingers
And will last forever more!

Copyright © Res Burman 31st May 2018